Moon Township, Pa. – The Robert Morris University women's basketball team ran its win streak to three games with a 72-55 win over Central Connecticut in a Northeast Conference game at the Charles L. Sewall Center Monday night. The Colonials improve to 14-9 overall and 8-4 in the NEC with the win while the Blue Devils slip to 9-14 and 6-6 in league games.
 
Anna Niki Stamolamprou led all scorers with 20 points. She went 6-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. She added a team-high seven rebounds to her stat line. Ashley Ravelli eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career with a free throw in the first half and finished with 11 points and five rebounds. RMU had 10 players find the scoring column, the seventh time this season that has happened.
 
"I was really proud of the way we got out of the gates today and took command of the game very early," said 13th-year RMU head coach Sal Buscaglia. "Now we just have to learn how to play with the lead and not clock-watch. Having said that, I'm proud of the way we handled the adversity at the end of the game. With only a five-point lead, we went on a 12-0 run and stopped them defensively.
 
"We had people stepping up and making plays and certainly one of those players was Jocelynne Jones. She made three straight great plays. What I also liked is that everybody played and everybody contributed. Anna Niki had a strong game and I was really happy for Ashley Ravelli getting her 1,000th point. She's been playing really well lately and playing the way we know she's capable of."
 
In a game that featured 52 fouls and a half-court shot, perhaps the most interesting thing to happen was a seven-point possession for the Colonials near the end of the first half. A three-pointer by Ravelli happened simultaneous to a CCSU foul. The basket counted and Megan Smith headed to line and hit her first before a technical foul was issued on the Blue Devils bench. Rebeca Navarro, who finished with nine points, sank both technical foul shots before Smith returned to the line to finish off the seven-point possession.
 
A slow pace to first quarter saw the Colonials break open a one-possession game with seven consecutive points over a 65 second plan as Leah Wormack scored on lay-up before Navarro hit a three-pointer and a 15-footer to give RMU a 17-8 lead. Central Connecticut slowly trimmed the RMU advantage to two points, 23-21, when Nicole Ferguason hit a three-pointer with 4:28 left in the first half. RMU tallied the next six points, finishing the half on a 13-2 run combined with the seven-point possession.
 
A three-point play by Mikalah Mulrain, who had seven points and seven boards, to start the second half gave Robert Morris 10 consecutive points and a 16-point lead, 39-23, just 16 seconds after the break. The Colonials pushed the lead to a game-high 19 points, 48-29, on a pair of Stamolamprou free throws.
 
The Blue Devils made a game out of it, however, using a 18-6 run over 5:54 to cut the Colonials lead to five points on two separate occasions. The last time was on a pair of TJahne Malone free throws with 4:10 to play.
 
Jones made her mark for Robert Morris at that point. She scored the game's next six points, came up with a steal and sparked a 12-0 run by the Colonials to finish the game. Jones ended with nine points, all in the second half, as RMU held on for the 72-55 victory.
 
Kayla Miller finished with 16 points and nine boards for the Central Connecticut. Aleah Epps tacked on 10 points.
 
Robert Morris returns to the floor Saturday, Feb. 13, when they travel to Fairleigh Dickinson for a 2:00 p.m. game.
 
NOTES: RMU's 17-point victory was its largest since 20-point win versus Wagner (1/4/16) … RMU had 10 players score for the seventh time this season … Colonials had 27 bench points vs. CCSU (bench is averaging 24.75 points over last four games) … An RMU bench player has posted double figures in seven of past eight games … Including tonight's game with CCSU, Robert Morris has held NEC opponents below their scoring average in nine of its 12 conference games this season, including each of the past three … RMU is averaging 23 free throw attempts over the last three games (28, 24, 19 totals) after averaging 16 per game this season … RMU is 8-0 in its last eight home games vs. CCSU … Stamolamprou has scored 20 or more points in two of past three games (18.66 PPG during stretch) and is shooting 11-of-20 (55%) from beyond the arc during this stretch.